Voices on Project Management

by Cyndee Miller

Pretty much every pundit out there has a theory about the future of work—and how things will actually get done. For a while, it was all about the gig economy. Now perhaps I’m horribly biased, but I’m way more intrigued by The Project Economy: execs structuring their organizations around a portfolio of projects designed to deliver the most value to their stakeholders. It’s happening—and you, my friends, are in a prime position.

Project managers are in the vanguard of The Project Economy, said Bob Safian, former editor of Fast Company, at the start of day two of Global Conference.

“Projectization is moving through the economy,” he said. “It’s happening—I hear it talked about in the halls of power in companies around the world.”

The future of work will be defined by tasks, not titles, Mr. Safian said. Technology is making existing structures within organizations feel archaic. And younger workers are looking at their careers as a sequence of tasks—a.k.a., projects—too.

People will work on a project, deliver value and then move on, said Tech Mahindra’s Vikram Nair during Sunday afternoon’s Fireside Chat with PMI president and CEO Sunil Prashara.

With that comes a new set of “it” skills. Forget soft skills—or at least stop calling them that. Stanford University’s Behnam Tabrizi is out to rebrand them as power skills—since they’re what will give people power in the future. It’s about communication, empathy and what he called understanding yourself, or “being clear about what your role is in the world” and “showing up in the most authentic way possible,” he said.

It’s also about embracing diversity: You need to have people on your team who don't look like you, said Frederic Astier of Accenture.

The Project Economy is going to require a different mindset—no matter your age or title on the org chart. “We must all possess a willingness and ability to adapt to the constant changes that are coming our way,” Mr. Safian said.

Chaos will rule. “The old rules of business don’t apply anymore,” Mr. Safian said. “We have to recognize that there are no new rules. There’s no real consensus about what’s going to succeed today.”

It’s a little scary, but also wildly exciting. So, are you ready?

by Cyndee Miller

It’s one thing to deal with disruption. But it’s a whole other to disrupt yourself—and put your self-proclaimed cash cow on the line.

With its new E190-E2 line, Brazilian aviation giant Embraer didn’t just design, develop and deliver a family of next-gen commercial jets. The company did it faster than any other competitor had with similar aircraft. And Embraer leaders readily admit it couldn’t have gotten there—or won the 2019 PMI Project of the Year Award—without some serious project management. 

In accepting the award, Luís Carlos Affonso recognized the role of PMI and A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) in providing some structure to the company’s project management journey. “We would not be here if not for PMI,” said Mr. Affonso, the company’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation.  

Fernando Antonio Oliveira, the company’s program director, noted that like a certain organization we all know, Embraer is celebrating its 50th anniversary. While it’s certainly a major milestone, he encouraged project leaders to keep looking forward: “Don’t think about the project results,” he said at the awards gale. “Think about how you’re shaping the future.” 

Of course, we can’t talk about game-changers without mentioning the other Project of the Year finalists:

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. and L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering rose above super-short timelines and months of monsoons to futureproof the country’s largest offshore natural gas field.

Société de transport de Montréal reimaginined one of the largest public transit rail systems in North America—making room for even more passengers.

Want to learn more? PM Network will take a deeper dive into all the project action over the next few months. Plus, you can check out video case studies on PMI’s YouTube channel.